1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to a direction-selectable differential high-speed serial interface with shared transmitter and receiver interface that support multiple video protocols (e.g., Display Port (DP), Digital Video Interface (DVI), High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI), Low-voltage differential signaling (LVDS), and other protocols (e.g., Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe)).
2. Description of the Related Art
At present, video interface transceivers generally take on one of two forms: (i) high-frequency transceivers having combined transmitter and receiver in a single integrated circuit (IC) block, where the transmitter and receiver have separate paths from the substrate through solder bumps/pads, through the package to separate package balls, or (ii) low-frequency transceivers, where the transmitter and receiver share a common path with common solder bumps/pads and package balls. Such video interface transceivers are limited to supporting generally only one or two different video interface standards.
In order to support a variety of popular video interface standards (as well as non-video standards) using such transceivers, a computing device may require a large number of different physical ports, increasing physical area required by the device. Additionally, having different physical ports for different video interface standards requires a user to manage a variety of physical connections depending upon which standard is to be used at a given time.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for a peripheral interface physical layer comprising a transceiver that can support multiple peripheral interface standards.